This was filmed around the time I was born. It makes me want to film the mundane places I've seen countless times on an ordinary day and watch them again 30-40 years later.
It was also the first indoor shopping centre/mall opened in the southern hemisphere while it also began construction in 1956 which was the same year the world’s first indoor shopping centre/mall opened in the US! :)
I remember standing on the outdoor observation area next to the runway as a child watching dads plane take off for a business trip. Sad that the shift in societys behaviour deemed it unsafe and they closed it. Also love seeing Space Invaders and at 40c a game. I do love that the viewing area you parked at the start of the video is still in use today. Theres usually a Mr Whippie van there now plus you can see both the solar farm for the airport, and many of retired champion racehorses at Living Legends (Woodlands Homstead)
City Square was also demolished and dug up a few years ago as a part of the Metro Tunnel project and will be reopening around the same time as when the Metro Tunnel is opened! :)
Ive lived over 50 yrs now in Melb and like others, have already said, this brought back so many memories. Thankyou for adding street names because I recognised so many but wouldnt know exactly where they were. Its amazing that ur video of capturing nothing that exciting is so awesome some 40 yrs later. Ive tried to explain to people what the Docklands/Southgate/PortMelb areas were like back then but not a lot of photos or videos are available. Mostly people capture an important thing, but totally love how you were capturing the moment regardless. As a primary school student I remember having excursions in the city then having our packed lunch near the water fountains in the city square. Still shudder when I think of the person who fell in and was trapped in an underground tunnel. Amazing there werent more cases. Tx again and also enjoying all ur other videos - please keep sharing
This was a great time in Melbourne. Great memories. I was having lunch in the City Square food court (long gone) and suddenly a guy made a grand entrance looking remarkably like Prince with his entourage of about a dozen gorgeous women. He came in and stood importantly with his fancy cloak settling around his purple jacket, hands on his hips and they all gazed around appearing to be expecting adulation. Most folks took a moment to be amused by the spectacle, probably thought 'who's this knob?' and went back to eating lunch. The guy was obviously underwhelmed by the tepid display of attention, turned and hastily departed to the sound of quiet chuckles. This was and still is... Australia. Pretentious behavior gets called out pretty bloody quick.
Ah, to be 18 again. Not sure what I loved and will miss more - W Class trams, the Datsuns 180B and 120Y, rego stickers on the windscreen, the hole that became Melbourne Central, the Gas and Fuel towers or a free-flowing Westgate Freeway. You brought a tear to my eye - thank you!
Everyone in the comments looking through rose-coloured glasses. I've lived in Melbourne for 45 years. It was grotty back then, it's grotty now. That never changed. Only the fashion and the landmarks have shifted a bit. The only thing I miss is the old city square fountain.
Melbourne and Victoria was an absolute mess in the 1980s. People have very short memories how much the Labour government ran it into the ground. The 90s was Melbourne's second golden era after the 1880s gold rush
Peoples heads were pointed in a different angle back in those days they looked ahead now they all look down. Back then was such a different time and I was about to say something and realised how censorship has taken over and I couldn’t even say what I wanted.
What a horrible town our once superb Melbourne has become. Every time I return it is worse. I was once a proud Vic, not anymore. Why did we let the elites do this?
Thank you for documenting that point in history I didn’t remember the pre melb central before construction how much our city has changed over the decades.
As an Indian migrant (born in the year 2000) who grew up in Melbourne from 2011 onwards, whilst the Melbourne back then may not have been as multicultural as it is today, I envy the people who had the opportunity to live in the city back then. Clean, less congestion, affordable housing, loyal and patriotic leaders who genuinely cared about the nations prosperity as opposed to their own selfish interests. I know it may not have been perfect, but I have no doubt that the Melbourne back then was a better place to live. Thanks for uploading this video. May it serve as an important resource for future generations to preserve and showcase the lives of Melbournians during this time period(era).
2:00 Yes even some guys would put gray in there hair in the 80's but mostly females as it was the in thing, but dad would say why would u want to have gray hair when so young lol n it was a good point 😲🦍🐒👍
The place I grew up in - In 80s Melbourne is a place I don't even recognise now. Melbourne had such a vibe and beauty about it. City Square (sigh) ... Demolishing the City Square is THE greatest crime of the city of Melbourne!!!! - My heart has sinked watching the City Square footage :-( You could smell the City Square water from Flinders Street station. Central Station Records behind City Square was THE place to be, I bought so many records from there and I still have some of them .... Love Spandau Ballet and ABC playing over the top !!!!!! Individuality, Nightclubs galore and not the kind of "culture' that has taken over Melbourne now. R.I.P. Melbourne - You were so beautiful to grow up in :-(
We feel exactly the same way! Your comment about Melbourne being a beautiful place to grow up in back then is so true! We have precious memories regarding the City Square and Central Station, which will forever be in our hearts ♥️♥️. Just walking down the streets was a beautiful sight and there were so many quality stores, unlike the many tacky stores everywhere with cheaply made items. All we have is our memories that we’ll cherish for the rest of our lives ♥️♥️. Sigh, I miss the Melbourne in this footage 😔🥺
@@genx316 Oh, I loved the City Square and never thought it was drab. And would buy records from Central Station in the 80s. Was there an Arcade there long before?
@@genx316 WOW, I just looked up the Queen's Walk Arcade! .. It was STUNNNING!!!!!! ... But, I still love the City Square as that was my era but what a pity. It was divine!!!!!!
I wouldn't say everyone. That being said, it's not all that much different nowadays, too. Druggies have always hung around the city, whether it was the 1960's. 1980's, 2000's or 2024.
A wonderful walk down memory lane. Thank you! I moved to Melbourne in 1984 and left in 1990 after the Pyramid Building Society crash and after the company I worked for, Health Australia, was bought out by Medibank Private. Those 6 years truly were the best in my life and I treasure the memories and photos of them.
So in other words, you only know what you know of Melbourne, and nothing more. That’s about as stupid as me saying I know everything there is to know about every square inch of Queensland, when I only lived there for six years! You’d be lucky to be able to count the dots on a dice by the sound of it!
